As we approach year-end and head into the holidays next week, Kidscreen’s editorial team is looking back on the shows, movies and products that brought them the most joy in 2023.

Goosebumps

I have to admit, R.L. Stine’s latest Goosebumps adaptation on Disney+ wasn’t on my must-watch television radar this past fall. But as often happens in Kidscreen’s office, I overheard someone saying it was pretty good, so I figured I’d give it a shot. Yes, I had a million other shows I’d been meaning to watch or catch up on at the time, but it was almost Halloween, so why not delve into some new but familiar supernatural fun?

While some fans were displeased that the series abandoned the anthology format of the original books and TV series from the ’90s—opting instead for a serialized storyline inspired by the Goosebumps films from 2015 and 2018—I thought the writers delivered a clever, entertaining script that kept me engaged, spooked, laughing and wanting more. Hiring a mostly unrecognizable teen cast and using a lot of practical effects were also smart moves that brought more realism to the series. At times, I even felt I was enjoying it quite a bit more than the recent Stranger Things seasons. For those who haven’t streamed it, Justin Long’s performance alone is worth the watch, as is another inspired turn by ventriloquist dummy Slappy, who is still by far the creepiest and most popular villain in the Goosebumps franchise.

Potendogs

I might be a little biased on this pick because I have a rescue dog, but this extremely popular Korean animated series from Seoul-based RetroBot Animation Studios might be my new favorite cartoon discovery this year. Described in its pitch deck as “way more than a grown-up PAW Patrol” and “Planet of the Apes meets Transformers,” Potendogs is a 12 x 24-minute action/comedy series for tweens about a boy who teams up with an adopted superpowered dog to save humanity from a group of evil, bionic canines. To date, the show is the most downloaded cartoon on Korea’s EBS VOD service, and music video “Stepped on Poop” went viral in Korea with more than 18 million YouTube views just a month after it launched. For the record, it’s a K-pop banger with an important message about cleaning up after your doggos. What’s even better about Potendogs is that it’s finding a wider audience. Paris-based Millimages recently scooped up exclusive distribution rights to the series in French-speaking countries, Eastern Europe, the Nordics, China and Russia. And WAS2 Films, a division of Texas-based nonprofit World Animal Awareness Society, is adapting an English-language version.

The Muppet Christmas Carol in Concert

For my final selection, I felt it best to end with an experience that could not have been more magical. This past weekend I attended Disney’s The Muppet Christmas Carol in Concert at Meridian Hall in Toronto. The evening featured a film screening with the musical score performed live by the TO Live Orchestra. I am a huge Muppets and Jim Henson fan, and my partner might be an even bigger one (she sings The Muppet Show theme song often), so it was a special night for both of us.

What made the experience even more joyous was that we weren’t the biggest Muppets fans in attendance. Super-fans were hooting, hollering and applauding their approval of famous character introductions and scenes throughout the screening. Tears of joy were shed, our faces hurt from laughing, and everyone left the theater smiling. The experience was a great reminder of how The Muppets can still unite people of all ages, and why event cinema is growing in popularity.